Originally I set up 2 servers with 12 GB for Server 2003 and R1 and R2 respectively. Unfortunately, I have run out of space on both. I have seen a couple of programs that allow you to re-partition without losing all of your data but was wondering what is the quickest, best, most secure way to re-partition my HD's. I have the R2 disks but not the R1. Can I mirror the disks to an external drive and swap the external for the internal? I need to be able to do this without taking the servers out of commission for a long time. Thanks in advance!

You can always try Linux. I've done it before on a desktop pc. Download the latest live cd of Ubuntu and burn it to a cd. Reboot the server using the live disk. Open up the gparted program. Its looks similar to the old Partition Magic windows software. You can then resize partitions. I've done NTFS and FAT without issues.

It may not be a good idea though. I've done it a few times and never had an issue. You will definitely want to make sure you have a good backup. If something goes wrong with any of the re-partitioning software, the drive may be toast and you'll have to recover from a backup.

But since this is a server, you may want to try something like Ghost. Just ghost the current 12GB partition to a new larger drive, then swap them out of the machine.

If the server is in a RAID configuration, I don't think the above would work.

You can install Windows 2000 SP using either the Web to download the Spexpress.exe program or the network to install the Spnetwork.exe program. After this installation, a folder called ServicePackFiles is created in the %Systemroot% directory. This directory contains about 160 megabyte (MB) of data.

If the directory is deleted and additional components (such as DNS, WINS, or Terminal Services) are added to it, your computer system can prompt you for the files. You have the option to browse to a location where the files are available.

To set up this new location permanently, edit the registry by performing the following steps:
1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the ServicePackSourcePath:REG:SZ value under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
3. Double-click the ServicePackSourcePath value and click String Editor.
4. Enter the new location of the files. The location can either be a local drive or a universal naming convention (UNC) path that points to a common share point.
The ServicePackSourcePath value must point to one level above the I386 directory because the SetUpAPI call attaches \I386 to the sourcepath.

If the files contained in the %Systemroot%\ServicePackFiles directory are deleted, they can be re-created by reinstalling the Service Pack.

As my C:\ was only a OS drive and contained little or no changing data, I also switched off the Shadow copy option. The data that I do hold is not regularly changing, and is regularly backed up so i decided that was a risk worth taking - I am sure some folk would disagree!